Minimum wage debate not over yet

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Public bargaining is resuming over Minnesota’s minimum wage.

A House-Senate conference committee trying to forge a deal is scheduled to convene on Tuesday. The committee hasn’t met since early in March after getting bogged down.

There seems to be consensus about raising the state’s minimum wage from $6.15 per hour to $9.50 per hour. How fast remains a point of discussion. There’s also dispute about whether to automatically hike the wage in future years to account for inflation.

Senate Democrats say they lack the needed votes to pass a bill with an automatic bump later on. Rep. Ryan Winkler, the chief House negotiator, says he isn’t backing away from that provision and will make a new offer that still includes an inflation measure.